Groanbox Boys - Gran Bwa (2008)

“Gran Bwa” was named after the Haitian Vodou loa (spirit) of the woods. Creole for “great wood” (from the French “grand bois”), Gran Bwa is the great spirit who resides deep in the woods and is associated with the gateway between the spirit world and the living world, the management of time, and medicinal healing.
It was recorded by sound designer Yann Seznec over one late Edinburgh night in May 2008, bringing an end to an intense, soul-searching tour of the UK. Both the music and the vocals were inspired by the plethora of beautiful and bizarre moments experienced on the road. The oldest yew tree in the world, a giant dam with large echo chambers, a mythical elm tree in a forest of pines, the making of a talisman, deer bones, rabbit skulls, caravans, chicken feet, gourds, broken down vans, a Senegalese drum master, lochs and bens, cowboy coffee, a Scottish fiddler, and the dozens of different Groanbox alter-egos are just some of the seeds that helped give life to this album.

Written and performed by Groanbox (Paul Clifford, Cory Seznec, Michale Ward-Bergeman)
Sound Design by Yann Seznec
Mastered by Pat Collier
Photography by Harry Kalish and Cory Seznec
Album Design by Anna Wolfgang

Paul Clifford: calabash, yew tree, freedom boot, kitchenware, vocals
Cory Seznec: guitars, banjos, harmonica, vocals
Michael Ward-Bergeman: accordion, shackles, vocals

Tracklist:
1 01. Groanbox Boys - Pigman's Dog (03:03)
1 02. Groanbox Boys - Bogeyman (03:46)
1 03. Groanbox Boys - Shards Of The Journey (Talisman) (02:47)
1 04. Groanbox Boys - Dam Door (02:45)
1 05. Groanbox Boys - Where Are You Now? (03:01)
1 06. Groanbox Boys - Poison At The Tolbooth (02:18)
1 07. Groanbox Boys - Beneath A Dark Veil Of Needles (03:15)
1 08. Groanbox Boys - Deer Bone In The Mansion (02:53)
1 09. Groanbox Boys - Chicken Foot (Put Em Away) (02:24)
1 10. Groanbox Boys - Rabbit On A Hill (02:33)
1 11. Groanbox Boys - Mountains Are Creeping (Yew) (02:37)
1 12. Groanbox Boys - Fire Underground (01:35)
1 13. Groanbox Boys - Staging Day (01:25)
1 14. Groanbox Boys - N.C. (02:24)